Merry Pop-Ins, OKC!

Merry Pop-Ins, OKC!

“People who get their feet wet must learn to take their medicine.” Sage words from Mary Poppins. Indubitably, Mary would love the new Pop-Ins Umbrella Share program in downtown Oklahoma City… no spoonful of sugar required!

“The concept for the program was really born out of necessity,” says Tim Berney, president of VI Marketing and Branding. “Downtown has become a pedestrian environment and we’re often caught going from one building to another without an umbrella on rainy days. We thought it would be nice to be able to provide folks a courtesy umbrella to borrow – like borrowing a cup of sugar from a neighbor.”

Of course, a savvy marketer like Tim would never pass up a golden opportunity to gain brand awareness by putting the VI logo on these moving billboards, but his team has taken it to another level. “We wanted a more global acceptance of the brand, so we partnered with Downtown OKC and have provided an opportunity for other companies to purchase umbrellas imprinted with their logos and include them in the umbrella share program.”

The Pop-Ins umbrella share program provides umbrellas for anyone to use. They simply grab an umbrella from the stylish umbrella stands (sponsored by Bob Moore Land Rover) strategically located in buildings all over downtown and leave it in the umbrella stand at their destination. Borrow. Use. Return. It’s that easy. As Mary Poppins would say, “Why complicate things that are really quite simple?”

To launch the initiative, VI and Downtown OKC led a procession of umbrella-wielding folks down Park Avenue and around the corner to Leadership Square where a press conference was held. Not one, but THREE Mary Poppins characters were there for pictures before going different directions, in and out of buildings, to garner attention for the program. And it worked.

“We have already fielded many inquiries from companies who are interested in being a part of the program,” said Tim. If you, or a company you know downtown, might be interested in learning more about the Pop-Ins program, check this out. After all, “Well begun is half done,” says Mary Poppins.